The Council’s addressable spend on goods, services, and works is around £380M annually. A variety of routes to market are used such as quotes, tenders and call-offs from frameworks. We are contracted by way of simple purchase orders to long term partnership agreements depending on the value and complexity of the goods, services or works.

To achieve this a small but effective, centralised procurement function supports Directorates to be compliant with both our internal Contract Procedure Rules (CPRs), national policy and procurement legislation.

This policy builds on achievements embedded by the team in the last 18 months since the formation of the Council, which have included:

• establishing a small, central procurement team who have embedded a culture of business partnership working within directorates
• developing a suite of documents/templates to support colleagues to procure in compliance with the CPRs and national legislation (where relevant)
• driving the inclusion of scored Social Value questions in tendering activity and making outcomes/delivery from this a contractual commitment, with a subsequent, robust tracking process
• establishing our own framework agreements that encourage participation by local suppliers and/or SME/VCSE organisations to meet the business needs of the Council
• going live with webpages to support, train, develop and encourage suppliers to work with the Council

We recognise the strategic importance of procurement and will proactively promote and engage with stakeholders on procurement and commercial issues and priorities, working collaboratively across the organisation, and with stakeholders inc. external partners, on procurement decisions and projects.

Then, using a business partner approach, we will encourage commissioners and project/strategic leads to engage early with the procurement team so we can advise, guide and support throughout the whole commissioning/procurement/contract management cycle. Supporting early market engagement with the current and potential supply chain to ensure the market can support the delivery of our needs.

Value for money (VFM) is paramount in fulfilling our commitment to local taxpayers and delivering public services efficiently. This means optimising the use of public funds by balancing effectiveness, efficiency and economy over the life-cycle of a product, service or works to achieve the intended outcomes of the procurement. This includes wider socio-economic and environmental benefits and impacts.

We will do this by:

• ensuring procurement opportunities align with Council strategic objectives and vision – devising procurements to best achieve those outcomes
• maintaining consistent approaches and processes to how we procure
• undertaking early market engagement (where appropriate, proportionate and commensurate with the need)
• considering the use of collaboration & economies of scale to secure favourable pricing/ fees
• support commissioners and project leads to develop outcome based tender specifications – where we specify the outcome NOT the solution
• seeking out innovation in our own sphere of influence but also challenge suppliers to be innovative in theirs
• considering contract performance standards and applying proportionate penalties, where appropriate, therefore holding suppliers to account
• considering open book accounting/ profit share in larger contracts i.e. service outsourcing or strategic delivery partnerships
• support contract managers to maintain dialogue/ feedback with suppliers to ensure outcomes delivered within or below budget and support skills development to enable them to incorporate suitable processes to monitor the contracts help identify savings and efficiency opportunities

Our procurement activity must be efficient, effective and deliver value for money whilst contributing to the Council’s vision and strategic priorities. To achieve this, we will:

• collaborate with colleagues in governance, legal and audit to streamline procurement processes and remove unnecessary bureaucracy, making things easier and better for everyone, without bringing undue risk on the Council
• instead of awarding to the lowest priced bid, decisions will focus on the best value for money/most advantageous tender, with consideration given to quality, social value, environmental outcomes, and long-term benefits
• put in steps to ensure routine purchasing transactions are efficient and timely
• challenge the status quo – ‘if we do what we have always done we will get what we have always got’
• seek innovation from suppliers through creativity in tender specification, procurement processes and evaluation models, potentially leading to saving money and improving services
• adhere to risk management processes and complete combined impact assessments, (as appropriate), to support effective tender/ contract management, risk mitigation and ensure priority outcomes delivered within or under budget
• use competition to drive and obtain VFM
• build in social value (and track delivery of outcomes), where relevant and proportionate to do so
• task suppliers to collaborate with us to reduce costs over the contract life cycles
• be innovative and develop competitive markets where they currently do not exist
• call-off from established framework agreements and use collaborative opportunities where they offer best value, efficiencies, reduced timescales and minimise duplication

‘Sustainable’ procurement is not simply just purchasing environmentally friendly products. It is an approach whereby organisations routinely meet their needs for goods, services, works and utilities in a way that achieves VFM on a ‘whole life’ basis – in terms of generating societal and economic benefits, whilst removing or minimising damage to the environment.

The principles of innovation, waste reduction, re-cycling and the use of environmentally acceptable alternatives must be at the forefront of our thinking when specifying goods, service, works or when re-procuring existing arrangements. We also need to build biodiversity considerations into this thinking, raising awareness of what we can all do to deliver nature recovery.

We will do this by:

• supporting commissioners and project/strategic leads to consider and build sustainability into tendering activity
• educate and encourage officers to review behaviours (particularly in relation to consumable products) aiming to reduced unnecessary use and adopt alternative and more sustainable products
• minimise wastage by encouraging officers to consider whether a product or service is required before it is purchased or renewed
• specify, wherever possible, practicable and beneficial the use of sustainable products and alternatives
• where possible incorporate new low/zero Carbon (LZC) technologies into projects helping to drive innovation and a low carbon economy
• use more renewable, recycled and low embodied energy products and materials and limit waste going to landfill
• use the least environmentally damaging goods and services
• use circular economy products or companies where possible, to reduce waste completely i.e., companies that collect old products to reuse materials for new products or to recycle, any companies that you can return packaging to for reuse/ recycling, etc
• using whole life cost approaches when specifying and managing contracts
• address barriers to entry in order that SME, local suppliers and the third sector are very much encouraged to bid for opportunities
• influence suppliers to adopt and embed practices that minimise their environmental impact and deliver community benefits in relation to supply of products, their own operations and supply chains
• prevent risks to biodiversity and actively seek conservation and enhancement
• influence suppliers to measure, monitor and report on their environmental performance, and adopt improvement measures into their working practices and operations

There is a requirement for all Councils to comply with the Social Value Act 2012, which is about improving economic, social and environmental wellbeing from public sector contracts over and above the delivery of the services directly required with no or little extra cost.

Public procurement should be leveraged to support both local and national Social Value priorities for the benefit of the local community and wider public.

The Council must have regard to national priority outcomes alongside local strategic priorities through its procurement activity, where it is relevant to the subject matter of a contract, and it is proportionate to do so. For example, and this is not an exhaustive list, Social Value can be delivered through the following activities:

• social – community engagement and volunteering opportunities, supporting disadvantaged individuals and minority groups, hosting events
• economic – creating new jobs employing local people, creating apprenticeships, work placements, purchasing from local suppliers/ marketplace, providing mentoring, training and career advice
• environmental – reducing energy and utility use and reducing carbon emissions, minimising consumption, using sustainable or recycled materials and products, using local supply chains and locally derived goods and services, supporting or delivering improvements to public spaces. Support the delivery of the Local Nature Recovery Strategy

Early procurement involvement will enable the procurement team to support delivery of Social Value by asking commissioners and project/strategic leads to consider:

• what is important to our local communities
• how can we deliver services differently in a way that will impact positively on the local community and the environment
• how can we support local businesses
• how can we work better together to engage hard to reach groups
• are there local issues that could be better resolved by working together with our communities

To provide social value, where appropriate, we will:

• use criteria involving Social Value considerations as part of tender evaluation (up to 20% where possible/proportionate), thereby challenging suppliers to be innovative in delivering added community benefits
• devise procurements to maximise local employment opportunities
• encouraging suppliers to pay the Foundation Living Wage, as a minimum
• make tender opportunities accessible and attractive, (without directly favouring them), to local SMEs & the voluntary and faith sector, through provision of sign-posted materials and early/pre-market engagement
• remove barriers – engage with the local marketplace to promote understanding of our procurement processes, support and train them in how to comply with Council tendering requirements
• develop an annual social value outcome update, showcasing exemplar performance, and evidencing what the Council have achieved and share this with the various communities and targeted local audiences
• work with partners to create an environment that promotes community wealth building and establishment of an Anchor Institution

The delivery of this Procurement Policy is ambitious, and we acknowledge that investment, development and training will be needed if we are to achieve everything we have set out.

It will take a whole Council approach as it cannot be delivered by procurement alone. However, through our team and with our business partner model, and support from directorates, we believe we can bring about the custom and practice and cultural changes needed to achieve delivery over the next 4 years.

It is vitally important that we can identify clear impacts/outcomes, and the resulting procurement benefits, and showcase these, both internally and externally, as a benchmark to our success.

We will:

• learn from experience, continually monitor and implement new legislation and guidance, minimise any gaps between established and emerging best practices
• be commercial in our outlook
• routinely carry out post tender award reviews ‘wash ups’ to capture lessons learnt – (what went well, and what can be improved upon)
• further develop and maintain the Council contracts register as a central repository to inform procurement plans and support transparency
• undertake procurement and key contract spend analysis to inform contract management routines and future procurements (seeking to optimise local spend, whilst attempting to minimise/balance off low value, long ‘tail-end’ spend)
• develop and monitor key performance measures and benefits tracking
• develop and maintain national procurement networks – continue to share and learn best practices
• work with partners to create an environment that promotes community wealth building and establishment of an Anchor Institution
• undertake staff procurement skills assessments to inform training and development plans

Through implementation of this policy, the Council will be very well placed to deliver high-quality public services with health and wellbeing at the heart of what it does, ensuring improvements in outcomes and the maximisation of social value initiatives and environmental sustainability/enhancement within its local economies.

The Social Value Act came into force on 31 January 2013. It is supported by the Procurement Act 2023 and the National Procurement Policy Statement.

Its aim is the wider benefit gained by a local community from the delivery of public contracts or services to secure and maximise social, economic, and environmental gains.

The benefits of such an approach aligns with our Cumberland values with health and wellbeing at the heart of everything we do:

• addressing inequalities
• supporting the local economy
• measures to address the climate emergency
• delivering excellent public services

It is our ambition to ensure that Social Value is embedded into the core values and culture of our organisation. We have committed to incorporating Social Value requirements that are aligned to our Council Plan Priorities, into tenders, wherever relevant and proportionate to do so.

As part of the procurement process our teams will consider, from the outset, how Social Value can be achieved through our contracts, to secure additional value for the communities and residents in Cumberland. The process we follow is underpinned by Cumberland’s Social Value Menu. Refer to Appendix 1.

Embedding Social Value into procurements encourages our commissioners to consult with the local provider market, our communities and service users. This in turn can lead to design of better fit for purpose services, and identification of new and innovate ways of providing them.

Our Social Value focus areas are split broadly into the following areas:

• local economies that work for local people
• addressing inequalities
• environmental resilience and climate emergency

By enabling positive outcomes in these areas will contribute to delivering positive outcomes in relation to health and wellbeing, prosperity and the environment for our communities.

Our aspiration

Through design, inclusion, and application of Social Value within our procurements and resultant contracts, we aspire to deliver:

• ethical procurement practices in our supply chain
• fair employment practices (including promotion of equality and diversity and inclusion and employment of people from disadvantaged backgrounds)
• job creation and apprenticeships, including jobs for the long term unemployed and those Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET)
• increased opportunities for Small Medium Size Enterprises (SME), and Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprises (VCSE)
• additional skills and training opportunities for staff and local businesses
• career advice and work placements for students and graduates
• protection and improvement of environmental sustainability
• support, protection, investment and improvement of community assets
• sustainable economic growth locally
• good health and wellbeing in Cumberland’s communities